


Fangirl 2

by Fangirling_mental_disorder



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Kissing, NextYearAU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sophmore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27532147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirling_mental_disorder/pseuds/Fangirling_mental_disorder
Summary: So, you know how we didn't get to see Cath going back to college? Well, this is my story of what happened in her second year of college. I hope you enjoy it!
Relationships: Cath Avery & Levi, Cath Avery/Levi, Wren Avery/Jandro
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok People! So, I've recently gotten back into the Fangirl fandom, and I tried to find some finished Fangirl fics of her second college year. Couldn't find any that went past like 8 chapters, so I'm going to fix that. Sorry that it's not betaed, no one I know has read Fangirl so I have no one to beta this. Please expect mistakes. They happen.
> 
> Also! I have challenged myself to write this fic every day, and post every 2 or 3 days until it's finished. So...  
> *cracks knuckles* Challenge accepted.  
> Without further ado, please enjoy this!

Cath walked down the hall to room 913, carrying a few boxes. She looked up at the door, feeling a wave of nostalgia pass over her. She remembered the first day there, when Levi, who she hadn’t known then, was leaning against her door. In the exact same place now was Wren, with her boyfriend Jandro. She had gotten back a week before Cath since Cath had wanted to make sure her dad really was ok staying alone. Their grandmother had passed over the summer, and it wasn’t the easiest thing for any of them. 

Wren looked away from Jandro, noticing Cath for the first time. She smiled at Cath. “Hey! I’ve missed you!” Wren ran up to Cath, enveloping her in a huge hug. Cath set down her boxes and hugged her back, smiling.

“It’s only been a week, Wren. Stop smothering me,” she complained. Secretly, though, Cath had missed her sister when they were fighting last year and loved every moment they spent together. Cath pulled away, picking her boxes up. “So, how has it been here? Is Reagan inside yet?” Cath asked, feeling only a faint urge to pull out her laptop and start writing. Instead, she pulled out her key ring and unlocked the door, letting the twins and Jandro into the dorm. 

“I think Reagan is at work. I saw her leave in the Olive Garden outfit. Oh, and she said to give you this,” Wren handed Cath a business card. “Turns out the Barnes and Noble down the street is hiring. She thought you might want to get a job there. I told her you got a car this summer,” Wren explained.

“Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind,” Cath said. 

“Hey, I have to go, but you guys have fun,” Jandro muttered, looking uncomfortable. Cath liked him decently, but she knew from Wren that, like Cath, he didn’t enjoy socializing. Fine by her. Cath unpacked quickly, then pulled out her laptop, turning it on, and sitting on her bed.

“Bye Jandro!” Wren said, waving. When she saw what Cath was doing, she pulled the laptop out of her hands. “No writing until you’ve seen everyone. At least Levi. Come on, Cath, dad gave me permission to go to parties as long as I stayed with you and stayed sober, so you’re going to have to get used to socializing more,” Wren demanded.

“Definitely not! I’m thinking of writing a second book to Carry On, with them at college. I can’t do that AND do school AND go to parties! I’ll see Levi, though,” Cath conceded. She pulled out her phone, texting Levi:

Hey, just got here. Can you meet up anytime soon?

His response was almost instantaneous, pinging my phone in my hands:

Sure. Your dorm, 5 minutes? Waiting for elevator now

Cath laughed aloud at his response. Only Levi would be already here. Not that she was complaining. She couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend. He was perfect. Which just made Cath worried to see him. They had called and texted over the summer, even Skyped. But they hadn’t seen each other in person, and she was worried he would be mad about that. Or worse, he could have found someone else. Cath told herself that was illogical, but the girl in the kitchen at his party last year kept coming back to haunt her. 

A sharp knock shoved Cath out of her thoughts. Levi poked his head in, then pushed the door open fully. “Hey, sweetheart, it’s so great to see you!” Levi gave Cath one of his trademark smiles, and Cath smiled back. She shut her laptop and placed it on her desk, saving it for another time. 

“Hey, Levi, good to see you too,” she replied.

“I’m gonna go now… oh and really? Sweetheart?” she said to Cath.

Cath made a face. “Shut up. I bet Jandro calls you ‘pet’. That’s worse,” Regardless of her comeback, Cath blushed slightly. She loved it when Levi called her that, but it was slightly embarrassing. 

Wren blushed heavily, making Cath realize she had been right about the nickname. “See you later, Cath. And you,” she directed her attention to Levi. “Don’t hurt my sister.”

“I would never!” Levi clutched his heart with mock surprise. Cath and Wren laughed, and Wren walked out, giving Cath a little wave. “So, Cather, I was thinking… maybe we could go out tonight? They’re playing Simon Snow and the Seventh Oak at the movies tonight, and tickets are half off for college students. I thought you might want to go,” he bit his lip, seeming slightly nervous. Even after so many months of dating, they hadn’t gone on a real date, unless take-out that they brought to one of their rooms or ate outside counted.

Cath blushed. “Uh, yeah, sure. I’d love to go. When does it start?” She questioned.  
“8 pm. We can grab dinner at Pear’s before, if you want,” Levi answered, grinning stupidly. 

She laughed. “What?” Levi seemed genuinely confused.

“Remember the first day I got here, last year? You welcomed me in, then asked if I wanted to go to Pears for dinner. Apparently, their burgers are bigger than my fist. According to you, at least,” Cath laughed again, remembering that day. Had it really been only a year? Cath guessed Levi had been right about Freshmen time. It seemed like way longer. But she was kind of a special case. Cath remembered shoving her protein bars and peanut butter under her bed, thinking she could live off of that alone for the entire year. She hadn’t even talked to Reagan for the first month, at least. And she had been fighting with Wren. Wow, had things changed.

“Oh yeah, I kinda forgot I asked you that. Just another drop in the sea of ‘no’s about going out,” Levi said, snapping Cath out of her thoughts. She grinned.

“Yeah, I didn’t go out very often back then, did I?” she smiled at him, then laughed at herself.

“Correction: you NEVER went out, and now you still don’t go out too much. Unless something changed my fangirl over the summer?” He joked. As though anything could make Cath go out to parties a lot. Well, other than Levi.

“I would never dare,” she joked, mocking shock. He laughed, then offered his arm to her. 

“Shall we?” he asked.

“Nope. Let me get dressed. If we’re going on a real date, I should look nice for you, at least,” she shoved him lightly towards the door. “Wait,” she demanded, closing the door on his face. So maybe things hadn’t changed that much. Still, she was glad Wren had given Cath some of the party clothes. Well, ok. So she didn’t really have “party” clothes. But still, she now had some presentable clothes. Cath pulled a flowing knee-length black skirt out, looking for a matching top that wasn’t too flashy. She found a white blouse that would definitely show her shoulders, but it wasn’t cropped, so she figured it would work. Then Cath pulled them on, stuffing her money into a small black purse (not functional at all). 

Cath pulled on knee-length white socks and small black boots with slight heels. She even decided to take down her messy bun and put up a side braid. Looking at herself in the mirror, for the first time, Cath felt like she was really, truly an adult. She looked surprisingly good. Not that she would start wearing these things regularly, but still. She decided to take a picture of herself in the mirror and send it to Wren:

Going out with Levi. Thought you would like the outfit. Be back in a few hours

I didn’t check her response, even though my phone buzzed. Instead, I turned, opened the door, and stepped out of the dorms. Levi, who had been leaning against the wall to my right, jumped up when he heard me. “Hey,” he grinned. “You look gorgeous. A lot like your sister, actually. My Cath couldn’t possibly have those clothes in her closet, could she?” Levi joked.

Cath giggled. “Wren gave me a few of her ‘going out’ clothes, she figured I would go to one or two parties this year, maybe a date even.”

“Well, you should have warned me that I only get one date with you. I would have postponed it till at least winter,” Levi grumbled, giving way to a giggle. “Come on, Pear’s is only a few blocks away, I thought we could walk.”

He held out an arm to her, which Cath accepted, and they briskly walked downstairs and outside. An idea popped into her head, a slightly crazed one at that. “Race you there?” she asked him.

“Oh, but what kind of gentleman would I be if I raced my lady to our destination?”

“That’s the point,” Cath announced, then took off running down the path. Levi quickly caught up with a sprint, but it seemed to take a lot of his energy. He really did seem to be trying his best. What a shame for him that when she was younger her dad would take her on runs (when he was actually in a good enough space to go on them). 

She turned her head to look at him, as he’d fallen behind again, huffing and wheezing. Cath laughed, turning back and slamming straight into someone.

“Whoa! Are you okay?” A familiar voice inquired.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine-” Cath stammered, cutting herself off when she looked up at who was there. Nick. That bitch.

Nick saw who she was and gave a startled laugh. “Oh! Hey Cath! It’s so good to see you. I was wondering, do you want to get together to write again sometime? Some of both of our best work was together, so I thought-”

“Hey. Nick, right?” Levi interjected. “I’m Levi, I think you remember me from the hallway last year? You never walked Cath home, from what I remember. Even though it was midnight,” Levi smiled, but not a normal Levi smile. No, this looked like he hated Nick. I figured no one would be able to tell, though.

“She’s an adult. And clearly, she can take care of herself. I mean, she did win that award that my-sorry, our- story couldn’t get,” Nick objected.

“Well, yeah, she’s a better writer than the two of us combined could EVER be, but-” Levi started.

“Maybe better than you-” Nick began, but Levi continued his sentence as though there was no interruption.

“-that’s not the same thing as physical strength, or even looks. I mean, she doesn’t look that threatening. And you're a senior, too. You know how many older guys are out here at night,” Levi finished, grabbing Cath’s hand.

Nick began to form an argument to that, but Cath stole the show. “Levi, I can take decent care of myself. Thank you for bringing me home every night that I went out, though. I can’t appreciate that enough. And, Nick? No, I don’t want to write with you anymore. My best work was Carry On, Simon. Not anything I did with you. So, sorry, but no, I don’t want to write with you. Now, I think Levi and I have somewhere to be. See you in Advanced Fiction Writing on Monday?” Cath tried to act politely. She hadn’t liked Nick much since he had called their story ‘his’ last year. She wished Professor Piper taught multiple periods of Advanced Fiction Writing because then she wouldn’t have to put up with Nick.

Nick looked down at what Cath was wearing, as though realizing something. “Oh, you two are together, aren’t you? Sorry man, I’m not trying to take her. I’ll see you in class, Cath,” Nick seethed between his teeth. He turned on his heel and walked off.

“Sorry, Levi, he’s a jerk. Don’t worry about him,” Cath sighed.

“I won’t. I just don’t like him much. We better get to Pear’s quickly, they're packed this time of year,” Levi noted.

They walked the rest of the way to Pear’s, where Levi flashed the waitress a nice smile, getting them a table. They had a nice dinner, laughing as they walked out of the restaurant.

“You’re right, their burgers are way bigger than my fist,” Cath smiled.

“Of course they are, sweetheart. Hate to break it to you, but you aren’t exactly large in most of your figure,” he laughed.

They walked to the theatre, buying snacks and tickets (Levi was right again, the tickets were only $5 each). They sat down in the theatre, trying not to be loud during the movie. Levi kept teasing Cath and asking things like “Was that in the book?” and “Did you write any fanfiction about this scene?” or “This would have been better written by you.” It kept making her blush, laugh, and smack him. Consequently, they kept getting dirty looks from the other movie-goers. 

As the lights turned back on at the end of the movie. They stayed in their seats until most people were gone, holding hands. As Cath finally turned to stand up, she saw another face that she didn’t want to see today. “Jesus, is it ‘people who Cath hates messing with her’ day? Because this is the second bloody time today,” Cath blurted, slipping into what Wren might call Simon speak.

The person in front of Cath smiled. “Hey, Cath. I thought I might find you here. Wren told me how much you love Simon Snow. I looked up some of your fanfiction, it’s really good-”

Cath interrupted her. “No. You don’t get to know what I do or don’t like. You don’t get to read my fanfics. I don’t want to see you. Go away, Mom.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Chapter two, finally! It took me forever, but I've been writing every day. All the characters belong to Rainbow Rowell, except for Mia Stewart. Sorry that this isn't betaed, but I hope you enjoy it.

“Cath, let’s talk about this! I want to get to know you. I mean, Simon Snow, fanfiction, writing, these are all cool things! I’d like to know more about you, about what you do, what you like, everything! And I’d like it if you were interested in me, too. Please, Cather?” Laura begged. Cath almost started to pity her but snapped out of it quickly.

“No. And you don’t have the right to call me that. You don’t have the right to read my fanfiction. You don’t have the right to know what I do or don’t like. Just-just stay out of my life. Believe it or not, things are finally going well. We don’t need you messing everything up again,” Cath glowered.

“Cath, is this your mom?” Levi asked hesitantly. For once, he didn’t look like talking. Well, he didn’t look like talking as much as usual.

“Yeah, Levi, this is my mom,” Cath sighed, the anger draining out of her. She just wanted to go home. Not to her room in Omaha, but her dorm or Levi’s bedroom. She wanted to curl up with Levi, on one of their beds or his couch. She wanted her laptop to be able to get lost in a magical world. And she wanted her sister, to comfort her. But all she really needed to face the situation was right here: Levi. She knew she could get through it with him here. And yes, it sounded cheesy, but it was true. Levi knew how to talk, that would be helpful.

“Well, hello, then. My name is Levi. I’m your daughter's boyfriend. We should get going, though, don’t want Cather to get attacked by drunk frat boys,” Levi mumbled cheerfully. Cath smiled at him. Sure, he was being super cheesy with everything he was saying, but she loved him for it. Wait, she thought, loved him? Well, I guess I do love him…. 

“Hi, Levi. Nice to meet you. You seem like a nice boy. You care about her. How old are you, though? My daughter is only 18. Wait, no, 19. Sorry,” Laura mumbled. She must have realized that forgetting both of her children's birthdays was not a good thing.

Levi smiled. “I’m 21, I’ll be 22 pretty soon though. And, yes, I care about Cather. How could I not?” he pondered, sounding like he seriously didn’t understand. 

“There it is again. Cather. You let your boyfriend call you that, but not your own mother? Is it some kind of pet name or something? If that’s the case I understand, but I gave you that name. I do want to be in your life, Cath,” Laura pleaded with me.

“Ugh, no, it’s not a pet name. He’s my roommate’s best friend, I met him on the first day last year, and he saw the name Cather on the sheet. He calls me Cath sometimes, Cather other times. Look, if you want to talk to me, Wren has to be there. Otherwise, no deal. And we stop talking whenever Wren OR I don’t want to anymore. Am I clear?” Cath demanded. This was not how she had wanted this night to play out. She was hoping… well, she didn’t know what she had hoped for. But definitely not Nick. And certainly not THIS.

Laura grimaced. Clearly, she knew how difficult this would be for her. But she didn’t argue. “Okay. Deal. I understand, I do, I just… your dad wanted me to get to know you, if that makes it any better. I’ll see you later, Cath. It was nice meeting you, Levi,” Laura smiled, which Cath saw looked absolutely nothing like the smile Cath saw in the mirror. She wondered how her mother could have even been part of her birth.

“Bloody hell. Really, why does she find it necessary to barge into my life? I mean honestly. She couldn’t find it in herself to just stay away? Or at least to come at a different time?” Cath fumed. She looked over at Levi. He was staring at her, half in shock and half seeming to laugh. Finally, the laughter won over, and he burst out in giggles as they left the theatre. 

Cath leveled him a menacing glare, which only encouraged his laughter. “What is it? Why are you laughing at me? This is serious!” Cath caved. Levi just laughed harder at that. By the time he calmed down enough to speak, he had tears in the corners of his eyes.

“Sorry, Cather. Just, you started speaking in a British accent. And you don’t do anger that well. Or at least that kind. Threatening? Not your style. You’ll secretly plot someone’s demise, sure, but not so openly. It just…surprised me. Sorry, sweetheart, didn’t mean to offend you. And she shouldn’t have come, but at least I got to meet her, right? That’s one mother checked off the list. Mines going to be harder to please than yours,” Levi grinned. He still was having occasional small fits of giggles.

“Okay, that’s fair. I guess. I’m sorry about our date, by the way. I mean, I didn’t want things to go like this. First Nick, then her,” Cath shook her head in disbelief. “This night was crazy. It was nice when it was just the two of us, though. I’m glad we did this, even if it went sideways,” Cath smiled, taking Levi’s hands in her own. They were outside the theatre on the sidewalk and had walked into a small alley and were standing close together.

“I’m glad too. It isn’t your fault that other people came by tonight. You can’t control them. Let’s just be glad about us being together right now. Okay?” Levi muttered. He was close enough that I could feel his breath on my forehead.

“Okay,” Cath breathed. She leaned up and kissed him. They had done this many times by now, but it had been a while, and they were always alone. They had never kissed in public. Somehow, it was intoxicating. Cath, feeling like she had had a few shots, pushed her hand up the back of Levi’s neck and through his hair. He leaned into her, wrapping both arms around her waist and sliding one of them up to cup the back of her neck. His other hand slid down and slipped around the curve of her hip. The kiss deepened, and Cath leaned back against the wall, pulling him closer to her. 

“Levi? What the hell are you doing? Who is that girl? What’s going on? You two aren’t together, are you?” A high pitched voice questioned, throwing herself towards them. Levi and Cath pulled away from each other, both blushing and looking at the ground. Cath looked up at the girl and saw someone with long, straight blond hair, large curves, a skinny waist, and blue eyes. So, exactly what every girl in a magazine looked like. Cath narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Oh, um… Hey, Mia. Nice to see you. I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow?” Levi stammered nervously. He ran a hand through his light locks, the same place my hand had been a few moments ago.

“Well, the show ended earlier than I expected, and Mom drove me out here. You’re lucky I convinced her that you were probably asleep since you weren’t answering calls or texts. If she had caught you defiling this young woman, I’m scared to think what she would have done-”

“Mia! Defiling? Never! Cather and I are dating. Ever heard of non-conservative people? I know we were raised by Boomers, but that doesn’t make you one. Jesus Mia,” Levi muttered, dragging a hand through his hair again.

“So!” Cath interrupted before Mia could respond. “I assume this is your sister, Levi? I mean, I hope she is,” Cath looked at Levi with her eyebrows raised.

“Oh yeah, I like this girl. She’s WAY better than Reagan. What’s your name? I’m Mia,” the girl said, sticking out her hand to Cath.

“Yeah, this is my sister,” Levi muttered.

“Cath,” replied Cath. “Nice to meet you. Don’t tell Reagan that you said that, though. However good of a friend she is, I wouldn’t put it past her to murder you-or me- for that comment.”

Mia laughed. “So you know Reagan? That’s interesting,” Mia smiled. “How did you guys meet? You and Levi, I mean. Not Reagan and- you know what, you know what I mean,” Mia smiled again, lapsing into silence. 

“Actually, Reagan and I were dormmates this year and last year, and Reagan had Levi over. I thought he was her boyfriend at first. Months later, we kiss, I feel terrible, and after a few more months, Levi and I are dating,” Cath laughed. She hadn’t realized how absurd it must seem until then.

“Huh. Leave it to Lee to get in a relationship with his only ex’s roommate. Well, I came to look for Levi, not to question his girlfriend. Sorry. Nice meeting you, though. Maybe you and Levi can show me where my dorm is? Unless I’m interrupting something. Well, I know I already interrupted something, but--you know what I mean,” Mia sighed, waving her hand, like, I’ll leave you alone now. She started to turn around, and Levi looked at me questioningly.

“We’ll walk you to your dorm, Mia! Where is it?” Cath bubbled. She liked Mia. She had a creative energy about her like she would be a good storyteller. Whether that meant a writer, like Cath, or an artist, performer, singer, or anything, Cath didn’t know. But she was certain this girl was majoring in one of the arts.

“Great, thanks! It’s room 914 in Pound Hall. My roommate is… um,” Mia shuffled her hand behind her and produced a piece of insanely folded up paper from her back pocket. “Uhhh,” she scanned the paper. “Oh! Wren Avery! Any idea who she is?” 

Cath’s eyes widened. “Um, yeah. She’s-she’s my twin. Come on, we should go,” said Cath.

“Small world!” Mia chattered. Cath and Levi walked Mia to the Pound Hall. Mia asked lots of questions, like “where’s the cafeteria” and “where were you guys just now? Was that a date?” or even “I heard Pound Hall is coed. Do some people share the same room with opposite genders? I bet they use that pretty usefully. You two sure would,” Cath wanted to strangle Mia for that one, but she restrained herself.

They finally reached the dorms, walking up to room 914. “Well, little sis, see you later. I think I have to go home now. I’ve got a very important day of making sure Cather doesn’t stay in her room all weekend tomorrow,” Levi quipped.

“Not fair! I went out. It’s Friday night. Therefore, I went out on the weekend. Besides, I want to start my newest project. You can’t stop me from that,” Cath argued.

“Will you read it to me as soon as you finish the rough draft of it?” Levi challenged.

“No… why would I do that? It won’t be even slightly good as a rough draft! I need to rework it. Then maybe I’ll read you one chapter. One. And only maybe. Is that fair?” Cath proposed.

“Not even in the slightest, sweetheart,” Levi smiled, then turned to Mia. “Sorry, she writes fanfiction. Simon Snow stuff. She’s pretty popular, actually. She wrote one called Carry On, Simon, and had, like, a million readers,” Levi bragged.

“Jesus, Levi, you put it like I’m a superstar-”

“OH MY GODS YOU’RE MAGICATH???” Mia screamed.

“Uh, yeah. You like my work?” Cath asked nervously. She always appreciated feedback, but it was a little weird when she met someone who read her fanfiction and knew she was the author. She didn’t want this to mess with her relationship with Mia.

“My gods, of course! It’s SO good. I always loved Simon and Baz together, and one of your works was the first fanfic I ever found! I was so glad to hear other people ship them. I mean, come on, their perfect-” Mia cut herself off. “I mean, their perfect enemies,” she finished, glancing worriedly at Levi.

“Don’t worry. Cath reads me some of her work sometimes. Never Carry On, though. Something about it being embarrassing. Wren says it’s dirty, too dirty for Cath’s mind. But don’t worry, I’m not going to tell Dad,” Levi assured her. “Does Mom know you read fanfics?”

“Yeah, but only her. Dad would kill me if he knew. Well, I don’t think he has anything against fanfiction, but that it’s gay,” Mia blushed. God, had Cath been like that last year? Probably. “If I were you, whenever you meet our Dad, I would suggest, maybe, you know, not mentioning the gay part? He’s pretty homophobic. Just a fair warning,” Mia smiled.

“Thanks. I won’t say anything. I’m glad you lke my work, though. It was great to meet you. See you later!” Cath beamed as Mia shut the door to the room behind her. Cath just made out a “Is that Mia Stewart?” in her sister’s voice, before the door closed.

Levi and Cath walked across the hall to her and Reagan’s dorm. There was a note on it addressed to Cath in Reagan’s messy handwriting:

Hey, I know you got here, so just so you know I’m going to be gone until Sunday afternoon. Don’t freak.  
-Reagan  
Cath tore the note off the door as she unlocked and opened it. She and Levi walked inside, both of them taking off their shoes at the door. Cath laughed. “Planning to stay for a while?” she asked.

“Oh, you know you’re glad for it. C’mon, tell me the plot of your next project. The basic plot, I don’t need a 4 hour rant, and don’t just say ‘it’s about Simon and Baz’. I know that much,” Levi demanded.

Cath sighed, laying back on her bed. Levi layed next to her. “Well, it’s kind of a sequel to Carry On, Simon, with Simon, Baz, and Penny going to college. Or university, whatever. I’m thinking Baz and Simon move in together, and Penny lives near them. But then something happens, and they have to go rescue Agatha. Maybe at Wattford, maybe in America, I haven’t decided yet. But it’s going to be called Wayward Son. Maybe Baz, the Wayward Son. I’m pretty excited for it. I want to get it done by the end of this year, though. Do you like it?” Cath smiled.

“Cather, that’s amazing. Maybe you could add some characters at their college. Like, oh, I don’t know, Levi? Maybe a Cather, too, and a Reagan. And Cather’s twin, Wren. Oh! They could go to college in America! Maybe… in Nebraska? Just an idea,” Levi giggled.

“Yeah, right. And I would do that because? I don’t want my readers thinking I’m egotistical. I mean, they know my name is Cath. That’s not subtle,” Cath poked Levi on the forehead.

Levi laughed. “Okay, fair. But I want to read it still,” he scolded. Cath sighed, knowing that Levi would somehow end up making her read it to him. She had no idea how, but she knew it would happen.

“Fine. But only if you pass me my laptop so I can start it right now,” Cath grumbled.

He passed her the laptop, and she opened it, turning the power on. Thank God she had it plugged in. She opened a new document. This was going to be a hard write, but she knew the hardest part was always starting. Sure, strating a new chapter wasn’t that easy, either, but beginning the work was always much harder for her. She stared at the blinking cursor on the blank page in front of her. Levi rolled onto his side to watch her.

Cath took a deep breath and started typing. It wasn’t hard once she got a few sentences out. The words just flowed out of her. She had started typing about Baz having writers block for an assignment, and now she was 9 pages in, almost done with chapter one.

An hour passed. Then two. After a little while, after her typing had slowed, Levi pulled the laptop out of her lap, holding it where she couldn’t grab it without sitting up.

“Hey! Give that back! I was about to get to the part where the entire story was set up! C’mon, Levi, give it back!” Cath struggled, but she didn’t want to get up.

“Nope. You need sleep. It’s 2 a.m., Cath. You need to go to bed. Simon and Baz can wait until tomorrow. Okay?” Levi ordered.

Cath groaned. “You sound like Wren. She used to tell me almost the exact same thing when I was up writing too late. Fine, I’ll go to sleep,” Cath relented.

“Good,” Levi said, closing the laptop on her nightstand. Cath rolled over on her side, looking at Levi.

“Hey. Levi? Would you stay the night? Just, sleep next to me?” Cath asked tentatively.

Levi smiled. “Of course, Cather.” He laid down next to her on his side, facing her. They both smiled and closed their eyes, and soon enough both of them were fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that! Friendly reminder to drink water, and don't stay up too late reading fanfics! Thank you all for reading. All constructive criticism is helpful and appreciated.  
> Love  
> Lyss


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this took forever, but I hope you're enjoying it anyways. This was a pretty long chapter, but I think it was pretty good. I'm actually doing NaNoWriMo for this story, but I started way late, so I think I'm doing pretty well!  
> Love  
> Lyss

Cath sat up in her bed, groggily. She wiped the sleep from her eyes, looking out the window. It was still mostly dark out. Looking at the clock, she realized it was only 6:12 a.m. She leaned over Levi, who was still lying next to her, and attempted to grab her laptop off the nightstand. Finding that impossible, she decided to get up to start the day. Cath knew Levi liked to sleep in until at least 9 a.m. on the weekends, and he was a heavy sleeper. She decided to take the risk of grabbing clothes and changing in her dorm.

Cath heard a groan from behind her as she slipped off her pants, her shirt already fully off. She turned around, shocked. Levi opened his eyes and looked at her. A wide grin spread across his lips. “Well, good morning, Cather. What time is it? Because I think it’s a little late for anything like that. Not complaining, and I’m willing, just mentioning it,” Levi joked. Or, at least, she hoped he was joking.

“Sorry. I was changing. Figured I wouldn’t fall back asleep, no matter how much I hate getting up early,” Cath explained.

“Not as if I have any reason to complain,” he quipped. Levi stood up and leaned over to kiss her. She accepted the kiss but pushed him away before it could escalate like last night in the alley.

“Seriously, let me finish changing. I’m going to go for a run to wake myself up,” Cath shoved him away.

He laughed. “Okay, sweetheart. Hands off, a promise.” He put his hands up in a surrendering gesture to emphasize the point. Cath laughed, pulling her clothes on. She kissed his cheek briefly before turning around and walking out the door. Levi laughed and shook his head, following her out.

Cath walked down the stairs and started jogging. After a minute or so, her twin came beside her and jogged with her. Cath laughed. This always happened. When one of them went on a jog, the other one always did too. 

“Hey, Wren. What’s up?” Cath asked, not slowing in her jog. Over the summer, her dad had convinced Wren and Cath to go on runs almost every morning and sometimes even at night. They were used to running.

“Nothing much, but I met my roommate last night. Turns out you met her before I did? Why didn’t you introduce me? And she’s Levi’s sister? She looks like a writer. Or maybe an artist. Not a farmer, like Levi,” Wren commented. Cath looked over at Wren. She looked a little strange, but Cath couldn’t put a finger on why.

“Yeah, I think she must be majoring in some kind of art. Oh, and she reads fanfics. My fanfics, even. Turns out Levi’s dad is crazy homophobic. It was some huge secret that Mia reads gay anything,” Cath laughed. Wren didn’t. Normally she would. Cath didn’t know what was happening. She looked at her sister more closely. She noticed dark circles under her eyes, a sign of exhaustion. Her eyes were a bit glazed over, almost like she was on a hangover. But the real teller was her breath. It smelled like beer.

“Wren! You were drinking last night? What is WRONG with you? Dad said no, I said no, even you agreed to this!” Cath fumed. She couldn’t believe Wren.

“I’m sorry! But Mia wanted her first experience at college to be a good night, at a party. She didn’t want to go alone, but she knew Levi wouldn’t have gone with her. You, me, and Levi are the only people she knows here. I knew you wouldn’t go for it, there was no way I could get you out again. And let’s face it, I need a good party. I didn’t get drunk, just a little tipsy. That’s not bad. C’mon, Cath, I won’t do it again, I promise, but please don’t tell Dad,” Wren begged.

Cath worked it over in her head. She knew Wren wanted to go to college for the experience, not for the knowledge. Cath sighed. “Fine. I won’t tell him. But only if you swear on Watford that you won’t drink again until Dad lets you, okay?” Cath argued.

“Okay. That’s fair. I swear on Watford,” Wren promised. She smiled at Cath. C’mon, we should go to Starbucks. I need some coffee.”

Cath rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I guess we can. Levi should be working anyway, so I can make sure he remembered,” Cath agreed.

“Why would he have forgotten?” Wren questioned, momentarily confused. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized. “Wait. Did you sleep with him last night? Oh my God! Jesus, Cath, you already went on a date last night. If you were that chill, you might have gone to the party. Holy shit!” Wren was rambling now, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Oh my God, Wren. Yes, he slept in my bed, next to me. I was writing, and… well, he was going to go home, but it was, I don’t know, 2 a.m.? I couldn’t just let him walk home that late,” Cath explained, rolling her eyes at Wren’s assumption.

Wren squinted, slowing to a walk and crossing her arms. “No. Something more than that had to have happened. I can see it on your face. Spill!” she demanded.

“Fine. So, this morning, I woke up at like 6, right? Levi was still asleep. I forgot he had work this morning, so I figured he would sleep in until at least like 9. I was wrong. Since I was still in my clothes from the night before, I changed. He woke up,” Cath admitted. Seeing the look on Wren’s face, Cath quickly shut her thoughts down. “I still had my bra and panties on! Chill, Wren. Calm your dirty thoughts.”

“Cath, seriously? You thought it wasn’t a big deal? That’s huge for you! What did he say?” she pleaded for information.

“That’s not for you to know. Let me have a boyfriend without you knowing everything that ever happened. Besides, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Last night, after The Seventh Oak, Mom showed up. She said that you told her I liked Simon Snow, that I might be at the movie. Are you still talking to her? If you are, I don’t want you to talk about me,” Cath glowered.

“No! I haven’t talked to her since the two of us both realized us fighting was stupid. I told her a long time ago that you like Simon Snow, sure. I showed her my fanfic account, she must have found yours off of mine. Sorry, Cath,” Wren sounded sincere. She really hadn’t said anything to Laura about me.

“It’s fine. And, you can talk to her, if you want,” Cath added, realizing she had been a bit unreasonable.

“Thanks,” Wren smiled. “But I don’t think I want to.”

Cath rolled her eyes, secretly happy. “Okay,” she sighed. They came to a stop in front of Starbucks. Cath pulled the door open and walked in, Wren following in her footsteps. She scanned the room for her boyfriend while Wren went to get them a table. Not seeing Levi, Cath stepped into line. He could just be behind the counter, somewhere she couldn’t see from her view. 

As she progressed through the line, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, Cath was startled to see Mia. She smiled at Cath, who didn’t smile back. Her thoughts were too occupied with Levi, Laura, even Wren and her drinking. Cath knew she would have to keep a closer eye on her sister. 

“Hey, Cath. It’s nice to see you here. Did you know Levi works here? Oh, nevermind, that’s probably a stupid question, he’s your boyfriend, how could you not know? Silly me. Hey, Cath?” Mia waved her hand in front of my face, probably finally realizing that I wasn’t paying attention. “Is everything okay? Cath?” she sounded agitated, stirring me out of my thoughts and worries.

“Hmmm? Oh, everything is fine, thanks. Just-have you seen Levi? He’s normally at the register right about now,” Cath explained. She didn’t want to go into her worries about Wren and Laura, but Levi was someone they both cared about, who she could talk to Mia about.

“Oh, that is weird. Do you think he’s just in the back room, maybe? It isn’t like him to be late, especially to a job. He doesn’t have any reason to be late, anyway,” Mia bit her lip, clearly thinking. 

The door burst open behind them, and Levi came running in, pulling his apron over his clothes as he went. He grabbed the counter, swinging himself around it and sliding to a stop next to the other person at the counter, who looked at Levi, said something sharp to him, and turned back to the customer, all smiles now.

“Well, I guess that solves the mystery of where he was. Or, where he is, I guess. Any ideas for where he was? Maybe he was just sleeping in?” Mia guessed, messing with the hair tie around her wrist. Considering the amount of time she could wrap it around her wrist (three), Cath guessed she did that a lot, maybe when she was nervous. Some people bit their nails, others stretched out their hair ties.

“I guess, he could’ve been… doesn’t sound like Levi, though,” Cath muttered, trying to think of what she would say to Levi when they got to the front of the line. It would have been hard without Mia there, but now? Jesus, couldn’t Cath have an easy time with anything?

“True… he usually wakes up pretty early… hmmm… oh, I know!” Mia jumped excitedly. Cath groaned inwardly, hoping she hadn’t figured it out. That would be pretty embarrassing: ‘oh, sorry your brother was late, I just fell asleep with him in the room next to your’s a few hours after you and I first met. No big deal.’ Nope, Cath couldn’t do that, but Mia was practically jumping with her idea.

Cath rolled her eyes. “What is it?” she gave in.

“He must have slept somewhere else! Probably with someone else, it would just be weird if it wasn’t. And they probably wanted him to stay with them longer since it’s so early in the morning,” Mia paused, her smile fading, as though she was suddenly realizing something. “Oh no. Oh no, oh gods, no,” she looked like someone had slapped her across the face. She looked at Cath sympathetically.

“What is it? What’s no?” Cath asked, genuinely curious now. What could be so bad that it broke even Mia’s cheerful demeanor?

Mia looked like she didn’t want to share, but she did. “Well, if Levi was sleeping somewhere other than his room… with someone else… well… that would mean he’s cheating on you. I’m sorry, super-duper sorry, I can’t stop him. You definitely don’t deserve that!” Mia looked like she felt terrible for bringing it up. She also looked sad, like she shipped Levi and Cath and didn’t want anything to happen to them. But at the same time, she had just a hint of glee in her expression. What’s a good ship without a little angst? Cath shushed her brain. Just because someone else read fanfiction, too, didn’t mean they shipped people in real life. Only Cath did that, and she was Cath.

Still, Cath couldn’t keep from laughing. Really? Mia, after knowing Levi her entire life, thought Levi would cheat on someone? She laughed even more.

“What’s so funny? Why are you laughing?” Mia sounded like she couldn’t bear the thought of not knowing something. Cath’s laughter died down. 

“Sorry… it’s just… I could never imagine Levi cheating on anyone. And, well, Levi wasn’t with someone else last night. I know that for a fact,” Cath tried to explain vaguely, but it just came out confusing. She sighed. If only she could be typing this and not saying it, things would be so much easier. The words would flow, instead of coming out in a blocky mess. And when they didn’t flow, they could be erased easily. The only time she couldn’t take back her words was when she had already posted a chapter, but that was only after she had revised and edited everything. She wished she had her laptop.

“Oh. Oh, okay. You two slept together? Sorry, didn’t peg you as the kind of girl who sleeps with her boyfriend on the first night she sees him after a few months. Honestly, I didn’t peg you as the kind of girl who sleeps with her boyfriend for, like, a year or something. That’s stupid, sorry. We’re in college, everyone wants to sleep with someone,” Mia shrugged, her cheeks bright red.

“No, no that’s not what I meant. We didn’t, like, actually sleep together. Just, I was up late writing one of my newest works, and Levi was next to me, and it was 2 a.m., so I didn’t want him to go back to his house alone. Especially since he would have had to walk. So he slept next to me, in my bed. Nothing else. Jesus, we’ve never actually slept together,” Cath pushed the hair out of her face. “I feel bad, though. If I knew he was already working I would have walked him home,” Cath sighed.

“Don’t worry, Cath. I’m sure he isn’t mad, and he was only a few minutes late. Besides, this is his first day of work here this year, lots of part-time employees are late on their first day,” Mia smiled. “I would know. Back at home, I used to work part-time at the apple cider place. They only open in fall. The first day I ever worked there, I slept in until noon, cause I was so tired. Work started at 11 a.m., went until 5 p.m. You’ll bet your ass I was almost two hours late,” Mia laughed, and even Cath smiled a little.

Eventually, we got to the front of the line, where Levi was waiting. “Hey, ladies. What do you want? Cath, no pumpkin lattes this time of the season, sorry. I can make you a S’mores Frappuccino, though. My version of it, not theirs,” Levi smiled.

Cath smiled back. “Sure, that sounds great, Lee. What do you want, Mia? I’ll pay for it-” 

“Oh, no, don’t worry, it’s on the house for that girl. Mia, you said?” Levi’s coworker said. He smiled at Mia slyly, like he knew he was getting her into his bed sometime this week. Cath and Levi both immediately looked at him, repulsed. The guy was obviously at least 25, whereas Mia was CLEARLY only 18, maybe even younger.

Mia smiled back at him uncomfortably, then told Levi “Can I just have a Mocha Latte? Thanks,” she smiled, for real this time, then walked down the length of the store to wait for the drinks. The guy working at the counter next to Levi slid a $10 bill over to Cath.

“Pay for both of yours with that. Keep the change. You can pay me back some other time, in another way. One that’ll probably benefit both of us,” he winked at her, turning back to the customer he was serving. Cath gagged. Levi’s angry expression softened just a little.

“That guy is 31. My sister doesn’t even turn 18 until November, she’s always been young for her grade,” Levi scoffed, taking the $10 from her and typing a few things into the register. “Do you want the change? It’s a little under $4,” he said.

Cath nodded her head, after a split second. Sure, the money came from a creep, but she was a college student. Any money was helpful. Levi leaned over the counter a little. “And don’t worry about me being late. It wasn’t your fault. I forgot too, and nobody cared. I was only five or so minutes late. It’s fine. Here’s your change,” he comforted her, sliding the money across the counter to her. Cath picked it up and went down to where Mia was standing.

“What did he say? I bet he told you it was fine, didn’t he? Levi’s like that. I remember this one time….” Mia kept talking, but Cath wasn’t paying attention. Mia’s stories weren’t bad, per se, but she was thinking of other things. Mainly, her new fanfiction, Wayward Son. She had an idea for it. A new character, specifically. She wasn’t sure of the name, but she wanted to base her off of Mia. So talkative, friendly, probably shy with things like knocking on doors, constantly fidgeting, cheerful. But what would her role in the story be? Maybe she could be the one who found out about the trouble at Watford?

"Hello? Earth to Cath?" Wren's voice snapped Cath out of her daze. Cath and Mia had grabbed their drinks and walked over to sit at Wren's table, but Cath hadn't been paying attention at all.

"Sorry. Yeah. You were saying?" Cath asked, smiling politely. Yes, of course, this was her sister and her friend, but sometimes writing was just overpowering. 

Week laughed a little at Cath's reaction. "I was just saying, maybe you should have Mia here draw some fan art for your fics. She's super good. Oh, and it turns out she writes fics for smaller fandoms," Week wiggled her eyebrows. "You may have competition."

Mia laughed. "Oh, it's nothing huge. Maybe, I don't know, 1000 hits on my biggest one? Mostly Peter Johnson (I hope my readers know what I dam mean by that) stuff. Like solangelo, percabeth, fierrochase, blitzstone, that kind of thing. That's why I say oh my gods instead of oh my God. It’s a Peter Johnson thing," Mia giggled. "Gods, that sounded stupid. You should read it though."

"I've heard about it. I'll read it and then check out your work once I actually know what those ship names mean. What's your account?" Cath promised. She did love reading, and hey, maybe she would really get into this series.

"Oh, that would be great! It's Fangirling_Mental_Disorder on Archive of Our Own (me? Subtly advertising? Never.)" Mia practically started bouncing in her seat. The girls continued their conversation, but Cath was barely listening. She was coming up with fanfiction ideas in her head. The song "Little Miss Perfect" playing on repeat in her head didn't help her focus.

They walked back to the dorms. Cath said goodbye to her friends and inserted the key into the door. Walking in, she wondered why she was dreading writing so much. Even though the entire trip to Starbucks, that was all she could think about, Cath didn’t want to write. She didn’t know what to write about. She sat down at her desk, opening her laptop anyway. She opened a blank page, to write about anything. Anything at all. She expected Simon and Baz to pour from the depths of her heart. 

Instead, a story of her own poured out. She wasn’t even sure what she was writing, just that she was. Thousands of words slipped by, hours and hours. After the shortest pause in her writing, even though she already knew what to type next, Cath glanced down to the bottom left of the screen, looking at the clock that sat there. 8:24 p.m. Holy shit. She had been writing for over 12 hours, but Cath wasn’t even sure of the story plot.

Cath stood up, stretching. She realized she was still in her running clothes, and changed into a real outfit. Well, okay, her Carry On shirt and a pair of jeans. Still, they were regular clothes. She heard a light tentative knock on the door and went to it. Cath turned the door, not sure who to expect. Levi didn’t knock like that, and usually after knocking he just came in. It was Jandro. Cath wasn’t sure what to do.

“Um, hi. If you’re looking for Wren, this is the wrong room. Sorry,” Cath mumbled, starting to shut the door.

“No!” Jandro caught the door. “I checked her dorm and the dining hall. I can’t find her anywhere. She isn’t answering her phone. I was just planning on hanging out with her, but now I’m scared. Her roommate didn’t even notice her gone, she’s been drawing all night,” Jandro sounded genuinely worried, which made Cath equally worried for her sister. She picked up her phone from where she had set it on her desk this morning. Seven texts. All from Wren.

“Oh, shit. Shit shit shit shit. Oh, fucking shit,” Cath muttered. She struggled to open her phone and read the texts.

“What? What’s wrong?” Jandro gulped.

“Seven texts from Wren. Jesus, what’s wrong with me. I didn’t even notice,” Cath shook her head, finally getting the texting app open. “Want to come to the Fall Frat? There’s a party there. Come, they invited both of us…Oh my God, there’s so many hot guys here… and girls… Back up, Cath, I need back up… holy shit this girl is into me… are you coming or not… COME NOW. HELP” Cath read aloud.

Jandro’s lips merged into a thin line. “Okay. We should go. You have a car, right?” Jandro asked. I nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

We ran down to the parking lot, finding my car, unlocking it, and swinging inside. It was a small Lexus, Cath had no reason for a bigger car. She turned on the engine, pulling out of the parking lot. Jandro directed her to the Fall Frat House: “right, take the next left, keep on this street, turn left on that one, another right…” Cath didn’t remember the directions anymore. She was too worried about Wren to care. What had she been thinking, going out to a party? Two days in a row now, too. Cath felt like strangling her sister. 

“Up there,” Jandro finally said, indicating the huge house in front of them. Multi-colored lights were flashing from through the windows, and the beat to whatever song was playing inside was causing the ground to vibrate even 100 feet away from the house, in the car. Cath and Jandro got up from the car, running toward the house. The doors were open, so they slid in with no trouble. They walked together through the main hall in the house. Thankfully they saw Wren immediately. Unfortunately, that meant they saw who was with her.

Wren was leaning against a wall, red solo cup in hand, clearly flirting with the girl by her side. Jesus, that girl was practically on top of Wren. “Wren! Come here. Now!” Cath yelled. Wren didn’t seem to notice, she was so wrapped up in the other girl. Cath rolled her eyes, starting to get angry. She marched over to her twin, grabbing her arm and yanking Wren away from the wall and, in turn, the girl she had been fawning over. Cath dragged her sister down the hall, marching her outside. Jandro followed dutifully.

“Wren! What the hell were you thinking? What just happened? I can’t believe you!” Cath fumed. Wren looked down, but she didn’t look like she felt bad. No, she looked like she was faking it to get back to the party. “Jesus, how many drinks have you had tonight?” Cath wondered.

“Only, like, 12. Not terrible,” Wren argued. She tried to turn around, but Cath caught her wrist, pinning her in place.

“Twelve?! That’s crazy, Wren! Maybe you used to drink all the time, but you haven’t drunk in, what, six months? More? Wren, you’re drunk! And what did you need help with?” Cath thundered. She couldn’t believe her twin. What was wrong with her?

“Jesus, Cath, chill the fuck out,” Wren began.

“NO!” Cath fumed, trying not to scream in frustration. She wanted to punch something, but even more so, she wanted to cry. To sit on her bed, at home, with Wren or Levi next to her, comforting her.

“Okay, fine. I needed help because, well… I think I might be bi. And I didn’t just want to say that over the phone. You didn’t have to bring my boyfriend, though,” Wren grumbled, crossing her arms.

“She didn’t bring me. She didn’t notice the texts until I came by her dorm and told her you were over,” Jandro said calmly, with a cold fury that was much scarier than my shouting. “But you won’t have to deal with me going to find you anymore. Or with me in general. We’re over, Wren.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, hopefully you liked that. Please comment any constructive criticism (compliments are welcome too)! If I did anything right, someone is actually enjoying this. I really hope it's getting read, because otherwise it's useless.  
> Anyways, your friendly reminder to drink some water!  
> Love  
> Lyss

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that! All constructive criticism is appreciated, and I always try to use it for next time! If anyone has chapter ideas or ideas for where the story could go, I will definitely take them into consideration! Good luck in quarantine, and your friendly reminder to please drink some water!  
> Love  
> Lyss


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